How Hot Was It? July Was Warmest Month On Record For U.S. : The Two-WayThere's never been a hotter month in records going back to 1895. The average temperature across the lower 48 states was 77.6 degrees.

"The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during July was 77.6°F, 3.3°F above the 20th century average, marking the warmest July and all-time warmest month on record for the nation in a period of record that dates back to 1895. The previous warmest July for the nation was July 1936, when the average U.S. temperature was 77.4°F."

From NOAA: This map "shows where July 2012 temperatures were different from the 1981-2010 average across the contiguous United States. Shades of red indicate above-average temperatures and shades of blue indicate below-average temperatures the darker the color, the more unusual the temperature difference."
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From NOAA: This map "shows where July 2012 temperatures were different from the 1981-2010 average across the contiguous United States. Shades of red indicate above-average temperatures and shades of blue indicate below-average temperatures the darker the color, the more unusual the temperature difference."